Susan Jane McLeod has been writing since she was seven
years old. At age eleven, she won a countywide essay contest, and her
professional career was launched. By the time she was nineteen, her poetry had
appeared in several magazines, including American Girl and Seventeen.
She also won an honorable mention in The Writer.
Susan grew up in Rochester, New
York, with her three sisters and one brother. In her early
thirties, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and given a 50/50 chance to
live. She survived only to have the cancer recur, necessitating more surgery
and an aggressive course of chemotherapy. Today she is cancer free.
The best job she's ever had was managing a bookstore,
surrounded by her passion: literature.
Susan has published several short stories and two
novels. The first, Soul and Shadow, is an award-winning paranormal
historical romance. The second, Fire and Shadow, is classified as
paranormal suspense. Both have garnered impressive reviews.
Susan believes strongly in several causes and has
raised money for the American Cancer
Society, Foodlink, and
the House of Mercy homeless
shelter.
She still resides in Rochester and will
always call it home.
She can be contacted at www.susanjmcleod.com
and
About the Book:
The DEADLY DOZEN Book
Bundle contains 12 complete mystery/thriller novels by award-winning and
international bestselling authors: Cheryl Kaye Tardif, Catherine Astolfo,
Alison Bruce, Melodie Campbell/Cynthia St-Pierre, Gloria Ferris, Donna Galanti,
Kat Flannery, Jesse Giles Christiansen, Rosemary McCracken, Susan J. McLeod, C.
S. Lakin and Linda Merlino.
THE
BRIDGEMAN by Catherine Astolfo
DEADLY
LEGACY by Alison Bruce
A
PURSE TO DIE FOR by Melodie Campbell & Cynthia St-Pierre
CHEAT
THE HANGMAN by Gloria Ferris
A
HUMAN ELEMENT by Donna Galanti
LAKOTA
HONOR by Kat Flannery
PELICAN BAY by Jesse Giles Christiansen
SAFE HARBOR by Rosemary McCracken
SOUL
AND SHADOW by Susan J. McLeod
INNOCENT
LITTLE CRIMES by C. S. Lakin
ROOM
OF TEARS by Linda Merlino
DIVINE
INTERVENTION by Cheryl Kaye Tardif
With an individual list price total of more than $45.00 and over 640 reviews collectively on
Amazon.com, the DEADLY DOZEN Book Bundle is a value-packed, rollercoaster
thrill ride that takes you from amateur sleuth to detective to paranormal to
ancient mysteries set in intriguing worlds and so much more.
For More Information
Thanks for letting
us interrogate interview you! Can you give us a
go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?
I was traumatized
at the age of six by the story of the Gingerbread Man. I couldn’t deal with the
fact that he got eaten by the fox at the end. So I crossed out his tragic fate
in the book and changed it to “And the gingerbread man ran away.” Once I
discovered that you could create your own reality there was no going back!
Tell us (we won’t
tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?
I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?
It’s true that most
authors are cracked—oops, sorry, I read that question the wrong way. Yes, it’s
definitely all that it’s cracked up to be! I love it, and the feeling of melting
into your story is sublime. When I write, I feel I’m connected to every emotion
humans have ever had. It’s the same sort of feeling I get during meditation,
but stronger. And then when someone reads you and is moved by your work, and
tells you how much they enjoyed it, it’s so fulfilling.
I think most
authors would agree that the worst demand is marketing. And having to pay your
publisher “protection” money. They do all require that, don’t they?
Which route did you
take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low
down on what’s that like?
I self-published
the first edition of Soul and Shadow on Lulu. The only difficulty I had, being
technologically impaired, was finding someone to do it for me. But it was all
roses and sunshine after that. I didn’t have any great expectations and there
was no pressure on me. I did have it professionally edited, which is especially
essential for an Indie author.
When Imajin bought
the work I was very excited. More doors opened up. I got a fantastic new cover
and a book trailer and more editing that really made the story better. Imajin
is a close-knit company with an extremely savvy owner and wonderful fellow
authors. I’m lucky there.
What’s the
snarkiest thing you can say about the publishing industry (e.g. rejections, the
long wait, etc.)
The rules of the
game are always changing. What is fine one day may be a criminal offense on
another. You have to stay on top of things, because the industry is in a
constant state of flux.
Tell us for real
what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book
written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?
It annoys them.
They think I can just stop and pick it up again at any point.
They don’t
understand the creative flow. And they all want their names in the books as
characters. And their pets. Pesky family. (I love you guys!)
What was the
craziest or most insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing
process?
I don’t like
disappointing you, but nothing really insane has happened yet. I’m sure it will
one day. Meanwhile I can make something up if you’d like. I’m good at that.
How about the
social networks? Which ones do you
believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?
I think Twitter is
the most effective. Facebook runs a close second. Those are the only two I use.
If I started google-plussing or pinning things, I’d never get away from
marketing and my head would explode.
Book sales. Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)? How are you making the sales happen for you?
Besides prayer?
Advertising. I took a third job to get money for advertising, and it’s
well-worth it. Engaging people on social media is important too.
What is one thing
you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?
Figuratively
speaking, right? Because trying to get on the rooftop would kill me. I’d shout,
“Get your copy of DEADLY DOZEN: 12 Mystery/Thriller Novels by Bestselling
Imajin Books Authors! 12 amazing authors and 12 nifty novels for such a low
price! How can you go wrong?”
Okay, too much
sugar for you today! Here’s a nice cup
of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves
roll in. Now…can you tell us what you
love about being a published author and how all those things above don’t matter
because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it
any other way?
You put it so well,
what more can I say? I love entertaining people and I wouldn’t have it any
other way! So long, and thanks for the tea!
MY LINKS:
http://bit.ly/OKdxZS
: Twitter
http://on.fb.me/QqIscp
: Facebook
http://bit.ly/PIACZI
: Blog
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